✗ The mask has got to go | Carl Lentz ✗

• When you meet Jesus you have the right to meet Him face to face so the mask in your life has got to go
• Even though we met Jesus, there is a lot of people who still put up the mask
• You have the right to know real freedom
• The moment you get saved, you have the right to drop who you were and pick up who He is - Real freedom, real security, real transparency, real calling, real purpose, real passion
• How can we leave a church setting and hit the streets and tell people to be real if you can't be real in church
• God is going to create a type of church atmosphere, where you are going to come as you are, you can be you, mask off, face to face in the living God
• Genesis 3:8-10
• You can do away all the old labels
• If God ever ask you a question, it is not cause He doesn't know
• People are fearful of exposing who they're really are
• When you get scared, you put on the mask
• 2 Corinthians 3:18
• "When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed... And where the spirit of the Lord there is freedom..."
• God can't work with your mask 
• Are you going to let God minister to you or your mask because there is no mask ministry in heaven
• You get behavior modification but God is about soul transformation and it can only happen when the masks comes off
• Multi masking is soul texting - It is hard work to be somebody who you are not suppose to be
• The mask came in and the peace went out
• You might be tired, but God is going to get you through it
• It is just not fun being somebody who they are not called to be
• It is so good to be free
• You have to resist the urge to reach in and pull out the mask (Eg. Strength mask - You are not the rock, Jesus is the rock, Happy mask, Sex appeal mask)
• Only in the real Jesus can you find the real you and if they see the real you they see the real Jesus
• Let the mask go, and then we get to see God move in supernatural power
• The masks exist because it covers up the need
• We need Jesus - Our relationship is on need
• Don't pretend that it is anything but Jesus
• When the heat is on, the truth comes out
• Don't get caught in the fight and find out you are a fake
• You can fake Christianity for awhile
• We go to church out of the love of Jesus
• Better than it comes out now
• Find out right now what is in you because God gotta need the real you
• The issues that you face tonight is not even about you but is about somebody who needs you
• To hold on to that masks is the most selfish thing you can do
• You get over your issue, and maybe you can help somebody else get over their issue - This is Jesus following
• The heat is on, and it should always be on - Get use to the confrontation
• He does not put on the mask of compromise ever
• Mask 1: Unnecessary complexity for the freedom of supernatural simplicity
• Mask 2. Drop the mask of selfish solo (me), and feel the freedom (Jesus) of supernatural yofo 
• After Jesus, life is all about the give - It feels good when you live for others
• Mark 1:40-45
• Jesus did not want to get the message get caught in the miracle - He was still consumed with other people
• I only live once, how can I bless somebody?
• There is still more to come - As much as He's done in your life, have a feeling that there is more
• Enjoy God's blessing but don't forget the burden for the lost
• If you have a collection, you better have a really good reason for it, because if you can't take it to heaven, why are you treating it like you can?
• James 4:13-14
• The masks of selfishness can be painful to peel off, but the result is too good to pass up
• Our God owns the world, He is above it all
• The question is not if but how much and if you are going to handle it well
• We can't have extra, when people have nothing
• You got to get over it, and people would need what God has put in your end
• Before you can do anything about it, your spirit leaps towards selfishness and that is why we would need Jesus to break that cycle
• I pray that you get to heaven with empty pockets
• What if what somebody needs in Jesus, you have?
• What you have in your hand it is more powerful that you think it is
• But you also don't know what other people have on them
• There is so much more to come in your life, there is more in your hands, more opportunity, more ability to reach people than you think there is, so Jesus gave it all so you can give it away - People need Jesus now
• The only collection that you want are the names of people that you gave money to that you never met, and you giving towards dreams that you see flourish

✗ Hillsong Conf 2014: "Psalm 23, whether you like it or not" by Carl Lentz ✗

• A lot of leaders say they believe in Jesus for the next generation but not a lot of them do it
• If you came to leave different, Jesus Christ can change anybody
• Psalm 23:1-6
• The psalm is a great picture of emotion
• "The LORD is my shepherd, and I lack nothing"
• Prosperity is to know Jesus
• If you have Jesus, He is everything
• We don't camp in valleys -- We keep it moving in the valley, and walk through them
• There are better days to come for you to walk on through
• Whether you like it not, you are walking through the valley, God is your shepherd, He is still with you
• Even if you don't want to hear it, the truth is the truth
• Whether you like it or not, God is good, God is still for you
• It doesn't change the truth, the truth is still the truth
• This major truth in life is that we need a shepherd, and not do our own thing or be our own God
• Psalm 23 only matters if God is your shepherd
• If God is our shepherd, it makes us sheep in this equation
• Of all the animals He could have picked from, a hawk, a shark, or something awesome, but He picked sheep
• Sheep has nothing going for them, not great leaders, nor defend themselves, can't clean themselves, don't have a reverse magnetism
• Sheep desperately need a shepherd
• No matter how great, bad, or lost you might feel or great things might be, we need a shepherd
• You need to go back to the shepherd, go back to Jesus, go back to trusting the one thing that has never failed anybody, and He won't start with anybody right here
• The Psalm 23 Reality Check: If God is your shepherd, if Jesus Christ is everything to you, we no longer have to chase the right situation, identity from the world, or set up, we simply have to chase the shepherd everyday of our lives -- everything gets real simple
• John 10:14-15
• If I am your shepherd you should get to know My voice
• I am the only shepherd that would lay My own life for a sheep
• If you have been tempted to chase a situation, or been following Jesus and there is a temptation to chase anything but Him, you don't need to go anywhere else in your value, maybe you lost everything or get some identity back but chase Jesus cause He is the one that gave it to you in the first place
• Only Christians can have a shaky situation, but have a solid Saviour
• Things aren't great, but I am gonna chase the shepherd because there is more to come
• Sheep don't strive -- looks peaceful, not have any worry in the world, because it knows the shepherd
• If you feel tempted to strive, chase the Shepherd
• If you are feel like chasing a quicker fix, chase the shepherd
• The shepherd does what the shepherd does
• The story of a church has never been chasing a spotlight, it has always been chasing a shepherd
• Sometimes people don't know the journey but want what you have now
• Sometimes the Shepherd will lead you into the spotlight or into shadows which we don't have any control of anything but locking onto the shepherd
• Are you willing to follow the shepherd through the dark or shaky days
• We should be a Jesus honoring church
• Where are you at today?
• Rest your heart that the shepherd knows what He is doing
• We can rest easy and never strive a day in our lives because the Shepherd knows what the Shepherd does
• We have Christians comparing to others' highlight reels
• "My path is okay because I am following the Shepherd"
• There is security in the Shepherd
• People can say and do what they want to do, but we can stay secured in the Shepherd as He always remains steady
• The good shepherd will always do two things:



1. The good Shepherd always corrects



• Something to ponder, when you are tempted to wonder
• Hebrews 12:5-8 ("Do not lose heart when He disciplines you...")
• If you are not getting corrected, you are not legitimate 
• If you love Him, and knows He loves you, He is going to correct your life like a good Shepherd always will
• We got to change the way we look at correction
• They are a few that will remotely confront somebody
• When heaven can't correct you, let alone a pastor, situation or a good shepherd, it is not cute that God is trying to get through you but not to you because you do not allow Him to correct you
• When you feel His conviction, He is not being against you but for you
• If you don't know that correction is good, God is on your case and He is because He loves you
• If you realized maybe you have a purpose, that He loves you so much to accept, and loves you too much to leave you like this, let Him do what He wants to do 
• The same God that loves you will always correct that course
• Sometimes God will correct you by giving you your prayer request
• The Shepherd would not leave the lamb sitting there but picks it up with the broken leg
• God does not want to break something, but God is so good, that He can use a hardship, direct word, or your own sin to correct your course and keep you closer to the Shepherd
• What in your life might God be speaking to you?
• Maybe God is trying to correct you from the little, so He can save you from the big disaster
• Sometimes God tries to get your attention in the little
• I will never tell you what you can or cannot do, and never intentionally reject Your correction
• How many years have pasted that you rejected His correct?
• How many miracles have you walked by with a proud spirit?
• Fight over sensitivity leads to spiritual inactivity
• A lot of Christians are super sensitive which you cannot get through them
• God is searching the earth for humble people, as He exalts the humble up
• Jesus searched the earth to look for people to simply follow
• The influence and opportunity to reach people will be hindered and we need everyone here to be used by God and not stop the things of God because we are too proud
• Some of you are defending are yourself against the same heaven that loves you so much, that God sent you the one and only Son that you never get to know death but Jesus
• Would you allow the holy spirit to convict you?
• Would you allow the shepherd to correct you?


2. The good shepherd always protects



• Wherever you go, whatever you do, God's hand of protection will continue to cover you
• No matter what you do, no matter where you go, His hand of protection will be all over you
• The Shepherd will protect the sheep, cause the sheep does even know how to get protection from
• His protection is even better than you know it to be
• What if you know the King of heaven and earth was on your side?
• The wind of heaven is on your back
• He has gone before you and His protection is behind you
• You do not just hope that God is for you but know that God protects you
• You got to thank God for all those things that ended up being a bad deal or wanted to snap out  but He shut it, give Him some praise -- that is our God
• When you know how much God protects you, you are able to live with faith not fear
• You can worship like you got a Shepherd 
• You just lost your job, "I got a Shepherd", You're not doing well, "I got a Shepherd" -- There is power in that
• He's protecting you more than you know He is protecting you
• He's got your back more than you have given Him credit for
• But I do think you can rest a little bit easier knowing that God is protecting you from things you have not seen yet, or from forces you cannot fight on your own -- this is our God
• God has got more for you -- "My cup it overflows"
• It overflows with mercy and grace, we can sit in His presence day in and out, and He still is going to give grace and He still is going to give mercy
• You may know the psalm, but want to know the Shepherd
• It is not just good enough to just sing the songs, and know about the shepherd, you need Jesus, you got to know about His grace
• It is better than you think it is, you got to know about His love -- There is more than you think there is


• Church can't change anybody, only Jesus can
• Preachers can't change anybody but preach about Somebody which is Jesus who can makes anybody move
• He leaves a whole bunch of healthy sheep to look for the one that is wondering
• If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all, in your life
• Romans 10 ("The old has gone, the new is here")

✗ "Season of Lentz" by Kara Bettis ✗

Pastor Carl Lentz strides though his Williamsburg loft apartment, a brightly lit home overlooking the East River. “Let’s get comfortable,” he says, planting his Starbucks on the coffee table—easier said than done, since we’re surrounded by a bustling team of producers, technicians and cameramen.

CNN is doing a story on him and the explosive growth of Hillsong NYC, the church Lentz pastors. Producers and cameramen are scurrying around both the apartment and his office, located only a floor down.

It’s not a normal day, but nothing to be surprised by, either. In the past three years, 35-year-old Lentz has watched over 240,000 people walk through Hillsong NYC’s doors. An average of 5,050 New Yorkers and visitors attend five Sunday services weekly.

Perhaps most jaw-droppingly, almost 41,000 men and women have given their lives to Christ.
A New York Apostle

In person, Lentz presents an intimidating figure, tall and resembling a sort of hipster Greek statue complete with a scruffy beard, long chain necklace and biblically themed tattoos.

Labeled a “celebrity pastor,” “Jesus Christ’s Superstar” and “apostle of cool” among other things, Lentz lives a lifestyle of constant scrutiny and pressure, yet his congregants and staffers say he’s one of the most humble men they know. He has faced controversy from every side: criticized by both the secular world for his Jesus talk and by fellow Christians for his controversial style; a style that includes, among other things, a commitment to not talk about “behavior modification” from the pulpit.

His charisma and message have gained the attention of media outlets, such as Details magazine, The Huffington Post and the Associated Press. He even did an interview with Katie Couric. He posts exuberant messages to his vast (and star-studded) collection of Twitter and Instagram followers

But he puts everyone at ease with encouraging words. To me, he jokes: “You look like you belong—do you live in Brooklyn?” No, but that’s high praise coming from one of the most stylish boroughs in the city.

You can learn a lot about a person by what they value. If you spend more than five minutes with Lentz, you quickly pick up on what seem to be his four defining loves: Jesus, family, other people and basketball. One of those things will bleed into any conversation he has—and it’s usually the first.

Family Time
For Lentz, each week has time set aside for these four loves. One day a week is reserved for highly protected family time. Lentz often talks about his love for his wife, Laura. They met while attending Hillsong Leadership College outside of Sydney, Australia.

Hillsong NYC doesn’t believe women belong in the background at church.

“Laura’s voice is just as strong as mine, and that’s cool for a lot of women to see that,” Lentz says.

The couple has three children: Ava Angel (9), Charlie (7) and Roman (4). Raising three kids in New York City makes family conversations lively and interesting. Lentz will often sit down with the girls after school and ask: “How was your day? What did you hear? How are you feeling? What did you learn?” It’s his single favorite pastime, he says: sitting with them and listening to their interpretations of life.

It’s one of Lentz’s more endearing traits: his refusal to put his family in his career’s backseat.

“Balance is a funny word,” he says. “I don’t want to do it all at the same time. My calling is not to Hillsong NYC, my calling is to serve Jesus and be a good husband and a father. If I do that right, the church ends up being fine.

“On Sundays, there are church services and children priorities—both important in this season of life. Only one is urgent.”

Celebrity Spottings

The day I visit Lentz is staff day, where he “keeps the pulse of the church” by meeting with key leaders in the church’s apartment-turned-office. He sits on the couch facing a circle of 20-plus staff members—only eight of them on payroll—and guides the meeting along jovially.

The CNN cameras don’t change the atmosphere much. I pass The Carrie Diaries’ AnnaSophia Robb in the hallway talking with some other staffers. She’s an involved member at Hillsong NYC.

Movie stars and famous athletes are regular attendees at Hillsong NYC, and while that’s become a popular talking point among media outlets, Lentz gets defensive when discussing his celebrity friends. He hates to be called a celebrity pastor. “Who’s a celebrity? Who’s not? Why does it matter to you?” he asks. “We believe everybody should be celebrated.”

Since New York City draws celebrities and the spotlight, it’s not surprising that many celebrities need a place to call their church home without being treated differently. One of Lentz’s best friends is NBA star Kevin Durant. Tyson Chandler, Jeremy Lin, Vanessa Hudgens and Scooter Braun (Justin Bieber’s manager) are regular attendees, as well.

As for Bieber himself, his friendship with Lentz has been well-documented. Pastor Judah Smith, Bieber’s pastor, is one of Lentz’s best friends, and Lentz says that he has been able to be a friend to Smith by being a friend to Bieber.

“I talk to him every week,” he says. “Justin is a friend of mine, and I love him. Ailments, wounds and all. Just like my friends love me.”

Of this friend in particular, Lentz is deeply protective.

“To the critic of Justin Bieber, I would say ‘Let’s follow you around for a day, shine a light on your soul ... Matter of fact, let’s go back to when you were 18, 19. How were you living?’” he asks.
His Testimony

There was a time when Lentz probably wouldn’t have wanted someone examining his life.

He was raised in Virginia Beach, Va., taught to know Jesus personally, beyond simply religious rituals, by his deeply religious parents. He sums up his story in a simple phrase: “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return.”

But in high school, while attending the First Baptist Church of Norfolk, he began to feel disconnected. Like many teenagers, he attempted to “do his own thing,” while church became optional.

But, “I always knew there was something better than that,” he says.

Around his sophomore year at NC State, Lentz realized that he was missing some part of the goodness of God. He rededicated his life to Christ and felt God telling him to leave NC State. “What’s it worth it if I go to NC State, play basketball, and lose my soul?” he recalls.

Back in Virginia, he dove into church work and studying the Bible afresh. At age 20, he crossed the country to The King’s University Seminary in Los Angeles, Calif., eventually moving to Sydney’s Hillsong Leadership College.

Lentz met Laura at the college and the couple returned to Virginia Beach, Va., where they taught at Wave Church. His friend (and current co-pastor) Hillsong United’s Joel Houston, approached him one day and suggested that they start a Hillsong church in New York City.

(A-)typical Sunday

Loving people is Lentz’s heartbeat. He preaches both from the pulpit (figuratively—there is rarely a physical pulpit in sight) and to those around him that Jesus said the most important thing in life is to love God and love your neighbor.

“We get lost in other things all the time. To me, following Jesus isn’t easy, but it’s simple,” he says. However, love doesn’t mean just letting things go, he says, it means discerning whether to open your mouth or shut your mouth, open your door to another person or shut your door.

This message is what seems to draw thousands.

One New Yorker who had been attending Hillsong NYC for two and a half years says she chose the church because she was able to get involved quickly and because she loves Lentz.

“He’s humble and passionate,” she says.

He’s able to maintain his zealousness for over 12 hours at the five different services on a Sunday, either leading services or preaching.

Last March, Hillsong NYC celebrated their third year in the city. In that time, the church has outgrown their famed “church in a club” venue at Irving Plaza, and moved uptown.

The new venue hardly affects the expected environment. As a music video plays in the Manhattan Center ballroom, the room darkens and the techno pop music soars. Visitors snap pictures, and a miniature mosh pit forms at the front of the room. A burst of confetti shoots into the audience and the worship team comes onto the stage, with an informal choir energetically dancing and singing upstage: “Dance the night away/We have found our place/In the Savior’s grace/ Dance the night away/Your light is taking over me.”

During the mid-service meet-and-greet, ushers pass around cups of water and gummy bears. Lentz dishes out a lot of memorable one-liners: “You don’t even have to believe what we believe here to belong here,” he says.

If his goal is to make the many visitors feel welcome and intrigued—and shocked out of their stereotypes of Christianity—he accomplishes it.

Although energy and passion pour out of any Hillsong NYC event, not all have a concert feel. Lentz’s favorite meeting is the Exchange Bible Study. In an old Lutheran church building, Lentz perches on a stool up front and leads a Q&A for over an hour.

With thousands of new believers to equip, the leadership staff has their work cut out for them. At the Exchange, a simple acoustic set leads into an evening of teaching. “It’s very, very unspectacular,” Lentz says.

Hard Days

It’s hard to believe that there are any unspectacular days at Hillsong NYC, which caters to a city that never sleeps. But there are hard days.

In the beginning of starting Hillsong NYC, Lentz preached at seven services in one day, the last one ending at 11:30 p.m.

“When you think about going on an extended camping trip and you hate camping, you know it’s time to slow down,” he says. Quickly, the church raised up a strong team, and now Lentz rarely speaks more than three consecutive Sundays.

When a movement explodes like Hillsong NYC has, the city takes notice. And when New York takes notice, the world takes notice. Although this opens up ministry opportunities, it also subjects Lentz to criticism from all sides.

“My biggest challenge is to remain compassionate but have thicker skin, because I have a desire to be understood,” he says.

Although many Christians judge his unorthodox tactics, Lentz restrains himself from rationalizing his choices because the Gospel itself is unexplainable.

“My prayer is that I remain compassionate and receptive to the need, but I don’t let things waver my own faith and convictions,” he says.

As a Christian, he knows he has chosen to be an ambassador—a “moving commercial” as he calls it. As a teacher, he knows he is called to an even higher standard: “The Bible says this is my job: to be under the microscope. I feel like I was born for it. Just like we all are.”

A famous church was never part of the plan. Lentz’s goal is to have a faithful community of believers.

“Faithfulness sometimes is in the shadows. Sometimes it’s in the spotlight. We don’t have control over the spotlight part of it, but we have control over our job, which is to be faithful to what is at hand,” he says.

For Lentz, faithfulness also requires him to reach out. Occasionally, he will visit clubs (with discernment, he’s quick to clarify) for a few short minutes to be part of his friends’ lives. He feels that if Christians can invite their friends to church, they cannot be opposed to being a part of other someone else’s world, as well.
“I go to some places not to ‘reach out to people,’” he says, “I go because that’s what you do when you are friends with people.”

In New York City, isn’t it hard to find the line? Is there a line? Lentz says Christians who might be susceptible to certain temptations should not place themselves in a vulnerable position.

“This has to be conviction from heaven, not rules from this religious earth,” he says. And everyone’s line is different.

He says his priority is to stay consumed with the Great Commission.

“That is my weight, that is my focus, that is my passion,” he says. “The Gospel rules are to wear Jesus wherever you go. That’s our call. That’s not a burden to me, it’s a joy.”